Professor; Director, Joint Graduate Program in Ancient Philosophy

Contact

Biography

My interests range widely across ancient philosophy from Aristotle to Zeno (the Stoic from Cyprus more than the Eleatic), and I have side interests in Greek tragedy (especially Aeschylus) and Hellenistic literature. My teaching is concentrated in ancient philosophy and Greek language (both at all levels), and in Greek culture generally. From time to time I also teach Latin authors and Roman topics. My published work focuses on Aristotle and his associates, and mainly in the area of ethics. I’ve also published articles in various other areas, including early astronomy and Hellenistic poetry. Recent publications include “Milesian Measures: Time, Space, and Matter” in the Oxford Handbook to Presocratic Philosophy (2008); “Posidonius and Stoic Physics” in Greek and Roman Philosophy 100 BC to 200 AD (2007); and two volumes on the Hellenistic Lyceum (co-edited with W.W. Fortenbaugh): Lyco of Troas and Hieronymus of Rhodes (2004) and Aristo of Ceos (2006). My main current projects are a translation of Diogenes Laertius' Lives and Doctrines of the Ancient Philosophers (for CUP) and a book on Aristotle's theories of pleasure.

Interests

Ancient ethics, Aristotle, Plato, Stoicism

PHL 381 •
Ancient Emotions

41719 •
Fall 2015
Meets
M 200pm-500pm WAG 10
(also listed as
GK 390 )

Graduate standing and consent of Graduate Advisor or instructor required.

Course Description

Emotions are a hot topic – aptly enough. Displays of emotion figure prominently in classical literature of all periods and forms, and in recent critical discussion accordingly. They were also the object of sustained theoretical attention from the fourth century BCE on. The seminar will examine both the presentation and the analysis of emotions in ancient literature and philosophy in pursuit of two intertwining goals: understanding some ancient philosophical accounts of emotional phenomena, and exploring how those accounts inform our reading of other ancient texts. We’ll start by looking at some ancient literary paradigms of emotional behavior, then turn to Aristotle (parts of his Rhetoric and Ethics) and Stoic models (chiefly in Cicero’s Tusculans and De Finibus aka On Moral Ends, and Seneca’s De Ira aka On Anger); and there will be plenty of room along the way to explore connections in other areas of interest or expertise – be it poetry, historiography, novel, or oratory for Classics, or early modern or modern theories or accounts of emotion for students in philosophy and neighboring fields.

All primary readings will be available in both English translation and the Greek or Latin originals. Discussion will pay due attention to issues of language and literary form where relevant; and Classics students can count on reading goodly helpings of Greek and/or Latin.

Texts

Selections from Aristotle, Cicero, Seneca, and others on Canvas and Library Reserves.

D. Konstan's The Emotions of the Ancient Greeks and other recent studies, including work by Brennan, Graver, Inwood, Nussbaum, Pearson, and others.

PHL 354 •
Roman Philosophy And Science

This course examines the aims, methods, and achievements of philosophy and science in the ancient Roman world. We will focus on three interlocking questions: What did the Romans know about the natural world – or think they knew? How did they know it – or think they did? And why did they think any of this mattered – and did it?

It has four main goals: to gain a critical understanding of some key issues and ideas in Roman philosophy and science; to analyze and evaluate philosophical and scientific arguments in their cultural context; to develop tools for thinking critically about the relation between evidence and theory; and to improve critical writing and discussion skills.

Grades will be based on: writing assignments (40%), midterm exam (20%), research project (30%), class participation (10%). There is no final exam.

Cicero, Academic Scepticism (Hackett: 978-0-87220-774-5)

Cicero, The Nature of the Gods (Oxford UP: 9780199540068)

Lucretius, On the Nature of Things (Hackett: 978-0-87220-587-1)

Seneca, Natural Questions (U Chicago: 9780226748399)

D. Lehoux, What Did the Romans Know? An Inquiry into Science and Worldmaking (U Chicago: 9780226143217)

This course carries a Writing flag and emphasizes reading, writing, and discussion.

PHL 329K •
Hist Of Ancient Philosophy

This course examines some central issues and ideas in ancient Greek philosophy. To set the stage, we’ll first look at some pioneering figures known as Presocratics. For the rest of the semester, we’ll focus on three thinkers: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; and we’ll study their positions and arguments on some enduring questions about human conduct, the natural world, and our knowledge of each. The emphasis throughout is on analyzing what these thinkers say and their reasons for saying it. The main goal is to develop a critical understanding of some problems and arguments that remain very much alive today.

PHL 329K •
Hist Of Ancient Philosophy

This course is an introduction to ancient Greek philosophy. It focuses on three major thinkers: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. We’ll examine their views and arguments on some central questions about the natural world, how we should live, and how anyone knows anything at all. We’ll begin with a swift survey of some influential earlier figures known as Presocratics and Sophists, and we’ll end with a brief look at some enduring ideas of Epicurus. The emphasis throughout will be on analyzing what these thinkers say and their reasons for saying it. The main goal is to develop a critical understanding of some problems and arguments that remain very much alive today.

PHL 381 •
Plato's Symposium

Graduate Standing and Consent of Graduate Advisor or instructor required.

The Symposium is one of Plato's most seductive dialogues - and one of his most perplexing. What to make of its extraordinary polyphony and generic diversity? Its elaborate dramatic occasion/s and multiple layers and reversals? Its widely divergent conceptions of eros? Its pervasive blending of sacred and profane, bawdy and transcendent? Or its relation to other Platonic dialogues, or to other writings, older, contemporary, and later?

The seminar will explore the dialogue from multiple angles: literary and historical as well as philosophical. Topics on the agenda are likely to include: dialogue form/s, prosopography, rival disciplines and genres, Socratic method, Platonic theories of desire, philosophical accounts of eros, the symposium as a site for cultural criticism, Plato's use of myth and rhetoric, and ancient reception, including contemporary reactions.

Although much of our material will be accessible to all, readings and discussion will make frequent use of Greek, and some material will require analysis of Plato's own language. Some facility with Greek is therefore strongly recommended; anyone unfamiliar with Greek should see me before registering.

Format will be mainly presentations and discussion. Course grades will be based on active participation, including seminar presentations (number and scope depending on our size), some shorter written work, and a seminar paper (at least some for presentation to the seminar). Within those general parameters, requirements will vary according to registration: some oral and written translation for GRK 390, critical responses for PHL 381.

Everyone should have a personal copy of the dialogue and familiarize themselves with it before we begin. Burnet's OCT vol. 2 is still the standard Greek text; and good translations by Allen, Gill, Griffith, Howatson, Nehamas and Woodruff, and Rowe are widely available. Helpful background reading includes other dialogues, especially Lysis, Phaedrus, and Republic 4.

PHL 329K •
Hist Of Ancient Philosophy

32065 •
Spring 2009
Meets
TTH 1100-1230pm WAG 302

This course is an introduction to ancient Greek philosophy. We’ll focus on three major thinkers: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; and we’ll examine their views and arguments on some central questions about human conduct, the natural world, and our knowledge of both. We’ll begin with a brief look at some influential earlier figures known as Presocratics and Sophists, and we’ll end with a brief look at some enduring ideas of Epicurus. The emphasis throughout will be on analyzing both what these thinkers say and their reasons for saying it. The main goal is not to memorize information but to develop a critical understanding of some problems and arguments that remain very much alive today.

PHL 329K •
History Of Ancient Philosophy

42405-42415 •
Spring 2009
Meets
TTH 1100-1230pm WAG 302

This course is an introduction to ancient Greek philosophy. We’ll focus on three major thinkers: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; and we’ll examine their views and arguments on some central questions about human conduct, the natural world, and our knowledge of both. We’ll begin with a brief look at some influential earlier figures known as Presocratics and Sophists, and we’ll end with a brief look at some enduring ideas of Epicurus. The emphasis throughout will be on analyzing both what these thinkers say and their reasons for saying it. The main goal is not to memorize information but to develop a critical understanding of some problems and arguments that remain very much alive today.